


One Step At A Time

by BornWeird



Category: Dil Dosti Dance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Taani and Swayam are siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-01-21 17:24:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12462405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornWeird/pseuds/BornWeird
Summary: Taani Shekhawat doesn't know if she can ever love again. Reyaansh Singhania doesn't know if love is really worth all the pain and heartbreak it brings. Two broken souls who have given up on what they love most... and a gang of stubborn crazy people they refer to as friends who are willing to do whatever it takes for them to give this love thing another shot.





	1. Here Come The Waterworks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is clearly a story for unknown fandom on this site, but since it's au, you don't really need to know anything about the show, and I will be going over some minor canon details, but other than that, this is for everybody! One very important thing that I wanted to mention was that this is posted on another site, under a different name. The original title was Mera Mann Kehne Laga Ki Pyaar Ho Gaya, and I wanted to change it because it didn't really seem to click anymore, so just an fyi if anyone happens to come across the exact same content in this story on another site, except it's under a different name. Anyways, happy reading!

"Ah crud!" I shout, as the box I was getting from the top shelf falls on me. "Curse my shortness!" I bend down to put the fallen items back in the box. As I place the box next to me, I scream, at no one in particular because my roommates were all out, "Okay, who forgot to tape this box?!" I then sigh and begin to pick up the items, which, lo and behold, were all pictures. "Ugh, why does Aliya have to take so many pictures?" I love my best friend, and I appreciate her talent, but an entire box? Honey, invest in an album, honestly.

I shake my head, my blood turning cold when I see the pictures. They're pictures of me - from a long time ago - back when I was happy.

My crazy plans with Maya - my partner in crime.

"Did we really break into an ice-cream store?"

Me hitting my best-friend Varun with his guitar for saying something stupid. There are like 10 different pictures of me doing this.

"He says a lot of stupid things, that boy."

Me dumping ice cold water on Kunal, my other best-friend, countless times.

"That explains the high fever and weak immune system."

More and more pictures of my fun times with my friends started to appear. Bowling alley, water park, laser tag, or just a simple day in the park. These pictures brought back so many memories of the good old days. A slight smile adorned my face...

Until I saw the next pictures.

Daksh Rathore. My best friend, my boyfriend, my protector, my clown, my support system... the love of my life! Dead. All because of me. Tears start streaming down my face as I remember the day that he confessed his feelings to me.

_It was New Year's Eve. My friends and I were coming from a party, when our jeep got stuck._

_"Varun you idiot!" I exclaimed, slapping him upside the head. If only his guitar were there..._

_"I'm sorry okay."_

_"Varun yaar, what the hell is this?" demanded Sanju. "You always forget to fill up your gas tank properly."_

_"And on top of that this stupid jeep of yours!" yelled Maya, hitting the side of his jeep._

_"Hey, don't say anything bad about my baby. It's okay Rose, she's crazy. She doesn't know what she's talking about."_

_It took Kunal, Daksh, Taani, Sanju, and even Aliya to keep Maya from lunging at Varun._

_"Varun, call a tow truck, and get as far away from Maya as possible," commanded Sanju. Varun did as he was told and got out of his jeep. He came back ten minutes later, with the worst news possible._

_"The tow truck should be here in an hour."_

_"An hour?" I shrieked. "I am_ not _sitting here for an hour."_

_Daksh cocked his eyebrow at me, in that way that he knew annoyed me to no extent. "Oh really? Then tell us Ms. Shekhawat, what exactly do you plan on doing?"_

_"Well if you must know, I plan on going for a walk."_

_"Where? Along the road?_ _Do you also plan on getting hit by a car? Or a truck? Or a bus?"_

 _"Shut up Daksh."_ Sarcastic ass _, I thought._

_"Okay, ignoring the sarcastic ass," began Sanju - it's like she really knows me, "where exactly do you plan on going?"_

_I panicked as I looked around for a place, and then, the angels sang and shined a light on my savior for that night._

_"There."_

_My friends turned to where I was pointing, only to see a forest._

_"_ _That's a jungle," remarked Daksh._

_"No, it's a forest."_

_"Same thing!"_

_"Actually, jungles have more trees," Sanju piped up, in true Sanju fashion, always ready and willing spew facts and correct others. Everyone turned to look at her, and she immediately said, "Right, not the point here."_

_"Tans, there could be animals there. Like wolves and snakes," explained Daksh, trying to reason with me. "Or there could be people drunk off their asses who could try to hurt you."_

_"Daksh, I'm not a baby, I can take care of myself!"_

_Daskh rolled his eyes. "Sure you can." I let out a frustrated scream before getting out of the jeep._

_"Nice job idiot," I heard Maya say, but Daksh merely ignored her comment._

_"Should we go after them?" I heard a concerned Aliya ask._ Them, who's them? _I wondered,_ Is Daksh following me?

_"Nah, they'll be fine," I heard Varun assure his sister._

_Daksh was most definitely following me._

_"I give them half an hour tops," I heard Kunal drawl._ Wow, thanks Kunal, _I thought,_ true friend, right there.

_As I walked through the forest, I slapped my ankle, trying to hit the mosquito that was sucking the life out of me. "Stupid bugs," I grumbled, shooing them away with my hand. Soon, I started shivering because it was such a cool night. I rubbed my hands on my shoulders, trying to keep warm._

_"I really wish I'd brought a jacket. But then again, I wasn't exactly planning on taking a walk through the forest!" I stepped on something squishy and cringed in disgust. I looked down and let out a breath of relief since it was just mud._ _Just as I took my foot out of the mud, I slipped on the wet grass - my tall wedges not helping the situation whatsoever - falling down the hill._ I'm going to die _, was what kept replaying in my head as I rolled down the hill. Once the rolling stopped, I opened my eyes and saw that I was sitting on someone._

_Daksh._

_I quickly got up and gave Daksh my hand, helping him up._

_"You seriously came after me?"_

_"I always do." He smiled at me and I smiled back._

_"So, how do we get back?"_

_"We'll just go the way I came." I nodded my head, following him. We_ _walked in silence for a few minutes... until we heard a loud growling sound._

_"Please tell me that that was your stomach!" pleaded Daksh._

_My eyes widened in freight. "I was hoping to ask you the same thing!"_

_We looked at each other, panic evident in our eyes, and yelled, "RUN!"_

_We ran, and ran, and ran - okay, I fell like fifty times and eventually Daksh had to carry me because, hello, heels - and then stopped when we finally felt safe. Well, it was actually more like we were extremely out of breath, but let's go with that instead._

_We sit on the muddy ground - this dress is going to be such a bitch to clean - face to face with Daksh having his legs spread out and me having one crossed over the other as we lean back. Our moment of peace is broken when Daksh asked, "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"_

_I raised an eyebrow, glaring at him. "Excuse me?"_

_Daksh continued as if my raised eyebrow and death glared meant nothing to him. "_ _Why do you have to get yourself into stupid situations? Why don't you ever listen to me, or the others? Why do you always have to do what you want?"_

_"Are you done playing twenty questions with me?"_

_Daksh smirked. "That was only four questions."_

_"Wipe that smirk off your face Daksh Rathore or I'll smack it off!"_

_His smirk just got bigger._

_We sat in silence once more, until I sighed in defeat. "Maybe it's because I like knowing that you have my back."_

_"What?" Daksh looked surprised, as scooted closer towards me._

_"You know why I never think twice about all the stupid things I do?" I told him. "Well, it's because I know you'll always be there for me, no matter what."_

_"Well, I like having your back. I like protecting you."_

_"Hey, I don't need to be protected!" Daksh raised an eyebrow at me, causing me to unwillingly admit, "Okay fine, maybe I do sort of need to be protected."_

_"Great, so I protect you, and the almighty force in the sky protects the innocent people of Earth_ from _you, but who's going to protect me from you?" My eyes widened at his comment, earning him a hard smack on the chest._

_"You are such a jerk!"_

_"See, this is why I need to be protected from you."_

_I got up in a huff, with every intention of walking away from Daksh in all his cocky, irritation glory - and possibly get lost along the way and regret all my life choices - when Daksh grabbed my wrist and pulled me down. We were nose to nose, Daksh and I. I could feel his hot breath fanning my face as he said, "Alright, I'm sorry. But come on, I did follow you into the jungle, which you so stupidly decide to insist is a forest."_

_I lightly punched him on the shoulder, a small smile on my face as I sat up straight, because despite being a cocky, irritating jerk, he was still Daksh, my Daksh, who I chose to love even though he made me want to tear my hair out._

_Daksh chuckled, almost as if he could read my mind, taking a deep breath in - a clear sign that he was nervous about something._

_"_ _You know, tonight didn't exactly go as planned," he told me, my brows furrowing in confusion as to what he could've possibly meant. "See, there's this girl, and I love her more than anything else in the entire universe, and I had this big, elaborate, grand gesture planned to show her how I feel, except I never got the chance."_

_To say I was hurt would be putting it lightly. When Daksh had said that he was in love with someone, my mind immediately went to how he would never know how I felt, how it broke my heart that he would never be mine, and how being me, I'd keep it all in because I am a coward when it comes to my feelings._

_I tried to give him a smile as I said, grinding my teeth together, "That's great, really, I'm so happy for you."_

_"Oh well, I can always try some other time."_

_"Yeah well, tonight didn't exactly go as I planned either!" I wanted to smack myself twice for that outburst. So much for keeping it all in._

_"I was going to tell a certain someone how I'd been in love with him for the longest time. You actually know him pretty well."_

_I hoped Daksh would take the hint, but he didn't. Instead, he faked a smile - I could tell because he was biting the inside of his cheeks - and drawled, "Really now And who might this certain someone, who I apparently know, be?"_

_"Well, he's my best-friend for one. Always there for me, no matter what. He is supportive, and caring, and always wants the best for me."_

_"He sounds like a dream." Daksh was frowning, clearly wanting to talk about anything else._

_"Yeah, he is. He also manages to get on my last nerve, before turning the whole argument around where I can't even stay mad at him anymore, and it frustrates me to no end,_ he _frustrates me to no end! But, I guess that's just what I love about him."_

_"Oh, so the guy of your dreams is just as bi-polar as you are, nice." And that, that right there, was the last straw. My patience had worn out and impulsiveness took over as I pinned Daksh to the ground, taking us both by surprise._

_"Of all the idiotic morons in the world, why did Krishnaji decide to give me you as a best-friend?!"_

_"What the hell are you talking about?" His voice was barely above a whisper, he almost sounded breathless._

_"I'm talking about that the fact that out of all the dumb things that I could possibly do, I go and fall hopelessly in love with you!"_

_Daksh's eyes widened at my outburst of a confession, as I sighed, half relieved to get that off my chest, but also embarrassed since I probably just ruined years of friendship, only because the one time I needed to keep my emotions all bottled up, I couldn't._

_I was broken out of my thoughts when I felt something wet and disgusting under my back. I found myself looking up at Daksh, realizing that he had taken a page out of my book and pinned_ me _to the ground. Suddenly, I found it hard to breathe, to look at Daksh and not think of my stupid behavior._

_Daksh smiled, not smirked in that cocky way that I thought he would, saying 'aw, you have a crush on me,' but smiled, smiled wide and proud, as if he was the happiest person on the planet._

_"You've said your part, now it's my turn," he said, his eyes not leaving mine. "Let me tell you about the girl that I am madly in love with."_

_I let out an outraged cry at his words, banging my fists on his chest, trying to get him to get off and let me go so that I can run away and never see him again. Also, possibly move to another planet - I heard that the moon was fantastic that time of year. Instead, Daksh stayed put as I glared at him._

_"You have got to be fucking joking right now! I confess my undying love for you, and you decide that it's a wonderful time for you to be telling me about some girl that I probably don't even know, and how you're oh so in love with her, when you really should be letting me hightail out of here so I never have to face again. God, you are so insensitive, and quite possibly the biggest moron in the entire universe and I hate -"_

_I stopped talking once I realized that I was once again, nose to nose with Daksh, with his breath fanning my lips as he spoke._

_"Would you please just listen to me for once?" His voice was tired, desperate, and clearly frustrated. I merely sighed, which he took as a signal to keep talking. "The girl that I'm in love with is crazy, she is absolutely insane, she constantly gets on my nerves and does this really annoying thing that even when she's wrong, she wins. Maybe that's why I've been ass-backwards in love with her for the past three years."_

_"So what you're saying is... the girl of your dreams is Harley Quinn?" Daksh shut his eyes, letting out a deep breath - something he only did when he needed to calm himself down._

_"You're unbelievable," he scoffed, before sitting up and pulling me up with him._

_"_ I'm _unbelievable?! You -"_

 _"And you seriously think_ I'm _the stupid best-friend?"_

_"I mean you are -"_

_"I'm talking about you, Taani!"_

_That shut me right up._

_"Me? Why me? What do I have to with anything?" I was ready to ramble on and on, but Daskh was having none of that then. Instead, he pulled me closer, placing his forehead against mine._

_"I'm in love with_ you _, you crazy woman! I love you - always have, always will."_

_"Oh." Yes, that's what I said after the love of my life told me he loved me. I'd kick myself too._

_Daksh clearly had similar feelings. "Oh? That's all you can say?"_

_I didn't know what to say, how to react. I looked at Daksh, then at everything around us - dirt, mud, grass, the disgusting creation that is nature, basically. I buried my head in Daksh's chest and burst out laughing._

_"Look at us! We're insane! We're telling each how much we love one another through a series of insults and death glares, in a_ forest _._ _"_

_Daksh looked down at me and soon started to laugh as well. "Yeah, we are pretty crazy. But just you know, this is a jungle."_

_I lifted my head up from his chest and looked at him incredulously. "Okay, dude, it's a forest."_

_"No, honey, I'm pretty sure it's a jungle."_

_"Okay, I have been your girlfriend for less than five minutes, and you're_ already _arguing with me about something stupid and clearly not worth arguing about?"_

_"Only because I'm right." Daksh gave me the brightest of smiles, which I couldn't even appreciate because, hello, I was right! We could've sat there and argued - and later apologized before another argument took place - for hours._

_Until we heard the lovely voices of our beloved friends that is._

_"Quit your yapping!" shouted Maya, causing us to turn around and see her walking towards us with everyone else in tow._

_"I'm happy for you guys and everything, but seriously, it's going to be so tiring to be friends with you," groaned Aliya._

_"How did you guys even find us?" I asked._

_"You guys are really loud," remarked Kunal._

_"I give them half an hour tops," Sanju mimicked what Kunal had said, before slapping him upside the head. "Dumbass."_

_"Ow!" moaned Kunal, rubbing his head in pain._

_"Dude, it was a hand, not a guitar, chill," said Varun._

_"He has a very sensitive head," Maya informed him._

_"Uh guys, I hate to break this up but, Taani and Daksh are gone again," said Aliya._

_"What?!" the others all exclaimed, realizing that we were gone._

_We laughed as we hid behind a tree._

_"Our friends are crazy and annoying," I remarked._

_"Yes, but they're also very stupid."_

_I giggled before looking into Daksh's eyes._ _"I'm sorry I took so long to figure out my feelings."_

 _Dkash bit his lip as he looked at me sheepishly, rubbing his hand up and down the back of his neck. "I'm sorry I took so long to make a move."_ _Tears streamed down my face as I hugged Daksh. "Here come the waterworks," he said playfully, causing me to laugh once again before our lips met._

"Here come the waterworks," I whisper, wiping away the tears streaming down my face... and that beautiful memory from my head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to point out that any of the characters mentioned in this chapter that are not in the tags, so everyone but Taani, is an original character of mine.
> 
> Musical Inspiration: Sad Song by We The Kings


	2. Cupid

"So, what exactly are we doing here again?" asks Rinni. Sharon had texted them at the crack of dawn, demanding that they come over to her place immediately, and there she was, in true Sharon Rai Prakash glory, pacing a hole through her floor in her six inch heels.

Jesus, only Sharon would lounge around in her house fully dressed and looking utterly fabulous.

Vicky, gently putting a stop to Sharon's nervous pacing, pulls her down to sit beside him on the couch. He then glances at Rinni and says, "We're here to find out how we can help Rey."

"Why aren't Swayam, Neha or Vishakha here?" asks Simmi, folding her arms across her chest, looking at her best-friend suspiciously.

"Because I have an idea that they wouldn't really approve of," Sharon admits. Her friends glance at her skeptically, causing her to sigh. "I want to bring a new girl into Rey's life. Now before you all start talking at once, let me explain." She looks at her friends, and they give her a slight nod. She breathes a sigh of relief and continues, "I think that Rey needs someone different in his life, different from  _Kriya_  to be precise. Someone who's like a breath of fresh air, someone who might make him happy again because we clearly can't seeing as how all our attempts have ended in Rey either remembering whatever he and Kriya shared, or just lashing out. We're not setting him up or anything, I just want him to know that his life isn't over just because Kriya left. I mean, we're only in our early fucking twenties, and Kriya Ghai is hardly the last girl on the planet!"

Everyone stays silent after Sharon's rant, until Nilesh speaks up. "I think you're right. Rey's completely changed, and we all want our friend back."

"But what about the others?" Bharat points out.

"Yeah, Swayam would be completely against us meddling in Rey's life like this," Amar tells them.

"And Vishakha and Neha won't be too happy about this either," adds Simmi. "They were Kriya's closest friends, therefore, team Kriyansh all the way."

As Sharon's about to say something, Rinni stops her. "Think about from their perspective Sharon. If it was me or Simmi who had done what Kriya had, wouldn't you still miss us?"

"Of course I would!" exclaims Sharon. And then reality hits her. "And that's why Vishakha and Neha miss her so much." Sharon sighs at seeing her friends all nod. "Fine, I guess I understand. But I still hate her." The others look at each other as if to say 'Close enough.'

"So, what's the plan?" asks Bharat.

"Well I was thinking -" Sharon begins, but she stops due to her phone ringing.

She picks up and asks "Hello?"

"Hello, Sharon?" she hears a man ask.

"Oh, good morning Raghav sir!"

"Good morning. Um, I actually wanted to talk to you and your friends about something."

"Uh, what is it?"

"Well, as you know, Anu and I are getting married. Thank you guys for pushing me to propose by the way."

"No problem sir. Did you need anything?"

"Well actually, since you guys played such a big part in getting us together, I think that you should be there for the wedding."

"Wow sir! That's really sweet of you too, thank you. I'll talk to the others. Bye."

"Was that Raghav sir?" asks Simmi.

"Yup."

"What did he want?" asks Vicky.

"He wants us to come to his wedding!" exclaims Sharon.

"Whoa that's great!" exclaims Nilesh.

"I know right. Let's call the others."

* * *

 

In some other part of Mumbai, a girl is trying to make her friends understand her amazing idea. "Come on you guys! This is a good idea. It's just what Taani needs."

"Aliya, I love you, but are you serious? I mean, come on, Taani and Daksh were in love! We can't change that," says her brother.

Aliya moves her hands around in frustration like a crazy person, causing the charms of her bracelet clash together, a jingle echoing throughout their tiny apartment. "I never said anything about replacing Daksh in Taani's life. Just listen will ya?!"

Her friends look at each other, and then look at her. Aliya sighs and continues, "All I'm saying is, it's been a year. I can't stand to see Taani like this! She's not herself, and I'm starting to get worried. I want my best-friend back, and the only way we're going to get her back is if we find someone who'll get her mind off of Daksh for a while - and not in a romantic sense because as we all know, Taani and Daksh were in love, I mean, we all thought they were forever. Just, maybe someone who'll understand what she's going through and be able to help her through it, because clearly, we can't!"

After a moment of silence, her friend Kunal speaks up. "Wow, that was some pretty smart stuff you said there Al."

Everyone turns to look at him and yell, "Shut up!"

"So, how are we going to pull this thing off?" asks Maya, another friend of Aliya's.

"Well, we can start at di's wedding," she suggests.

Varun raises an eyebrow at his sister. "So what you're saying is that you plan on setting up our best-friend since child birth with some random stranger?"

"She's not setting her up!" Sanju exclaims defensively, with Maya slapping Varun on the back of the head for good measure, just as Aliya sheepishly murmurs, "Right, bad idea."

"What's a bad idea?" they hear Taani ask from behind them. They all turn around, and see that their friend has come home with the groceries.

"Uh..." everyone awkwardly trails off, unsure as to what they should say.

Taani takes off her sky high wedges and places the grocery bags on the floor beside them before crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes at her friends. "Guys, what are you hiding from me?"

"Um..." Maya begins awkwardly, immediately glancing at Sanju for help, prompting Taani to focus all her attention on Sanju instead.

"Just the fact that Aliya hasn't had a relationship in forever!" Sanju blurts out in sheer panic, very loudly at that. Taani looks at her strangely, completely and utterly confused, until Maya decides to speak up.

"Yeah, that girl needs to get laid!"

"WHAT?!" shouts an absolutely traumatized Varun, trying to make lasers come out of his eyes to reduce Maya to a pile of ash he can fit into a thimble because let's be real, the girl is the size of a shrimp. Look, his sister can do whatever the hell she wants, he just doesn't want to hear about it and be scarred for life, so let the literal roasting of Maya Kapoor begin.

"Yeah," Maya, the she-devil, says, bringing Varun out of his twisted, but justified dream. "Varun and Aliya think that it's a bad idea, because you know Varun, ever the drama queen - 'my sister deserves the best, you don't know shit shorty, the last three guys you dated had criminal records, eff off' - but we think that it's a good idea for me to help Aliya find a nice, decent guy."

"I agree," declares Taani, walking over to Aliya and Varun. "Al, sweetie, I l love you and how passionate you are about your work, and your loved ones, and many, many other things, but girl you haven't had an actual date since we were sixteen, you need a love life. Also, I don't care how uncomfortable Varun gets, he's going to help you find a nice, decent guy to date. And now, before Varun can change his target from Maya to me, I'm going to go change, bye!" With that, Taani practically sprints to the room she used to share with Daksh, locking the door behind her.

Once Taani's in her room, Aliya quickly grabs the bags of groceries and heads into the kitchen. Maya and Sanju are about to follow her when Varun hisses, "Oh no you don't!" The two girls cringe and turn around with the most innocent expressions on their faces. Varun glares at them and the girls put their heads down.

Kunal simply opens a pack of M&Ms he found under the couch and watches his friends as one watches TV.

They were better than cable to be honest!

Varun walks circles around the girls a couple times before stepping in front of Sanju. "Aliya hasn't had a relationship forever. That's the best you could come up with?" He then shakes his head and steps in front of Maya. "That girl needs to get laid? What the hell Maya? Were you trying to make Taani even more suspicious?"

Maya lifts her head up and says, "Well, if I said something like, 'Aliya needs a love life,' Taani would've known we're lying. These are the types of situation where she knows I'll use my inappropriate sense of humor. That's why I said what I said, you dumbass."

Varun groans in frustration and runs his fingers through his hair. But his eyes soon go wide, an evil glint making itself right at home, a sign that he has an idea. A dangerous idea. "Alright, since you two are so keen on playing cupid, then you can find my sister a guy to make this whole charade more believable. Not to mention, this might even throw Taani off our trail so she doesn't suspect us trying to help her out in our own strange way."

"Are you kidding me?" demands Maya. "Aliya is so choosy when it comes to guys, not even fictional characters are enough to satisfy her! I mean. the girl wants someone who is  _completely_  honest, like, all the time. We can't work this!"

"I know," groans Varun. "Why do you think she hasn't dated anyone since high school?"

"Hey!" they hear Aliya whine from the kitchen.

"We love you sis!" Varun calls out to her, just as Maya states, "You know we love you to Pluto and back!"

"Okay," is Aliya's response, prompting Varun and Maya to go back to glaring at each other.

"So, a believable date for Aliya -"

"No freaking -" Maya begins to protest, but Sanju squeezes her hand, whispering into her ear, "We're best-friends. So if I get eaten by a bear, then you get eaten by a bear. Similarly, if I have to complete this impossible task so Varun doesn't have a meltdown and possibly ruin everything, then you have to complete it as well."

Maya sighs and whispers back, "Alright, but I'll strangle him later."

Sanju just simply shrugs her shoulders before turning to Varun.

"We'll do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musical Inspiration: I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts (yes, the Friends theme song)


End file.
